The winding nature of Frauenfeld meant that the wide start was an immediate precursor to the race order. Herlings didn't achieve a good start in the first moto to stay with holeshotter Tonus (competing in his first ever home Grand Prix) or Rockstar Energy IceOne Husqvarna’s Max Anstie (an impressive MX2 victor here in 2016), but he held off a surging Tim Gajser to make sure of sixth. The 22-year-old made no mistake in the second moto and disappeared for his eighth moto win on his Red Bull KTM 450 SX-F.

Riders grouped together and shared roost at various points in both sprints. Monster Energy Yamaha’s Romain Febvre made a welcome return to the lead group and Anstie’s teammate Gautier Paulin was also solid enough to deter Red Bull KTM’s Antonio Cairoli—the Sicilian admitted to “sleeping” at the start of the second moto and didn’t have enough for the French duo behind Herlings.

The crowds tingling enthusiasm dipped noticeably by lap two of the second moto when Tonus crashed on a new section of the track and was tagged by Suzuki’s Arminas Jasikonis, resulting in a broken rib for the Yamaha man. Anstie had miscued his start and by nudging into a frustrated Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Clement Desalle (who’d hit neutral) he had to fight all race to reach 12th. The way was clear for Herlings to rise to the peak of the podium while Paulin clasped a trophy for the first time in four events and Cairoli saw just two points chipped away from his championship lead of 99 courtesy of his 11th appearance on the podium this year. As a side note Cairoli has all but wrapped up the Fox Holeshot Award in 2017 with a total of 13—a clear underpin of his success ratio this year.

MX2 saw the underperforming, but also underrated Paturel at last produce the attacking capability that saw him tipped as a championship contender during the pre-season period. Benoit’s mire of results (he had won only one moto and gained just two podiums all year) has led to a strange void for the quiet but friendly Frenchman as he ages-out of MX2, but has found precious little opportunity in MXGP for 2018. This showing should help cast away some doubts. Paturel was one of five riders that haunted the upper echelons of the class.

Seewer was rapturously cheered with every scrub and threat of an overtaking move, Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Thomas Covington mixed one poor start with one good one to lead the second moto until Paturel’s arrival and the Red Bull KTM duo of Pauls Jonass and Jorge Prado also loomed and created two tense outings for the MX2 runners. Prado’s knack for finding the absolute sweet spot of the 250 SX-F and judging the gate drop means he is the most prolific starter in Grand Prix and another brace of holeshots duly fell the Spaniard’s way. His pace as a leader in both races faltered slightly, but he rediscovered the flow that worked so well on the sand the previous Sunday and played a dutiful teammate to Jonass.

The Latvian said he was marginally off-pace on Sunday and a second moto crash could have been far more costly than the two positions he dumped but later regained. Jonass was still able to tread the box with his 3-3 and has missed the podium just twice in 2017. He now has 11 trophies in a row and is looking very deserved of the crown in just his third GP term.

Seewer was undoubtedly the star draw. The Suzuki awning was the busiest place in the paddock across the weekend and with pole position on Saturday, his army of fans and a surge in national media attention (the Grand Prix was even broadcast live on a major Swiss TV network) Seewer was the focal point in his special red livery.

His first moto run to beat Paturel was superb. Even a bobble on the last lap that allowed the Yamaha to shadow his rear wheel and cause a few thousand fingernails to be gnawed could not stop his mission. The Grand Prix deflated with his crash on the first corner of the second moto. Seewer claimed that Prado had turned too tight and left him nowhere to go, but his energetic comeback of whips and scrubs—even to the cost of LRT’s Julien Lieber as the pair briefly touched over the finish line jump in a fight for fifth and the latter tumbled—was fun to chart and kept the tension high.

The Grand Prix win was lost for #91, but his trek to fourth place must rank as one of the best performances of the series in 2017 and matches title rival Pauls Jonass’ flight to fifth from last position in Belgium a week earlier.

In the bigger picture of the MX2 championship then Frauenfeld went according to prediction: Jonass made gains on Seewer in the sand of Lommel and the roles were reversed in Switzerland. What started as a 50-point gap before the weekend dropped to just 49 by Sunday evening and Seewer must have been hoping for more. The playing field looks to be level for both protagonists in Sweden and the USGP in Florida is also hard to call. Jonass could have the edge in Assen and more sand for the penultimate fixture, but Seewer will again count on an army of followers for the Grand Prix closer at Villars in France, which is near the Swiss border. For the third time in four years the MX2 title dispute could be settled in the 38th and final moto of the season.

Covington was competing with the bruises of Belgium and will be able to testify that the Lommel sand is really not that soft when hit at speed. Team USA’s new recruit (stayed tuned for an interview later today) continued to walk that line between outstanding and obscurity, but was again in the podium hunt overall on a track that was to the Husky rider’s liking. Monster Energy DRT Kawasaki’s Darian Sanayei shone on Saturday with a strong fourth position and personal best qualification in his rookie MX2 year. Sanayei won an EMX250 double at Frauenfeld in 2016 and grabbed an eighth overall on his first GP attempt.

Sweden is next and then there is a much needed break before the trip to WW Motocross Park and a new start for the USGP. The Jacksonville, Flordia, venue will instigate another three race run to the 2017 finale in France.